Package Structure

The package is seperated into a high level and low level API.

The high level API is the primary interface of functions that interact with user interfaces (UX) - i.e the GUI or the CLI. The high level api is also available for use via importing the package and invoking from a python script.

In general, the job of functions in the high level is to take in configuration objects and basic python data types suitable for a user interface (strings, numbers, booleans) and perform some set of operations based on those configurations. Things like “perform an RF sweep measurement” or “generate an effective efficiency data file.” These functions will take in configuration objects and coerce input data into acceptable in memory representations needed for the lower level API.

The low level API contains a set of mathematical and generic utilty functions and classes. These functions and classes are handed off to by the higherlevel API, and can’t be directly interacted with by a UX. However, they are available for use in a python script by import.

Configuration objects act like adapters between the high-level API and the low level API. High level functions take in configuration objects, which they pass off to lower level API. In the case of measurement running functions, the lower level API include calls to instrument control drivers and interfaces that manage the flow of an experiment. In the case of high level functions that process data, the high level functions pass of data to mathematical functions according to the appropriate algorithm.

Saving data is controlled at the UX level, and is done by specifying output paths. When writing a python script, you must manually save output data into the desired format.

Data and Processing FlowUX Layer
Python API
Python Script
UX
Save Data
Start
In UX?
High Level API
Load Data
Low Level API
Done?
Need More Data?

The goal of this architecture is to facilitate adding new analysis functions that operate will with both the UX and via Python scripts.This hopes to make the code modular. You can interact with the high level API and UX for routine tasks, and interact at a lower level for more niche analysis.

Submodules that contain the high level API functions:

  • microcalorimetry.analysis

  • microcalorimetry.measurements

  • microcalorimetry.export

Submodules that contain lower level mathematical functions:

  • microcalorimetry.math

Submodules that contain configuration objects:

  • microcalorimetry.configs